Lets build a Wind Tower.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/84BeVq2Jm88?feature=player_detailpage

There is a few farms across mid Michigan. Those are so cool to see when driving up near US10.

300' spans and they appear to be just barely turning. But, I'm guessing the blade tips are really flying.

Pretty cool video. Seems like they have the construction and commissioning process pretty well down. I wonder how long it takes for it to generate enough electricity to pay for itself.

Cool video, for some reason I was shocked at how much the rotors weigh.

In reply to z31maniac:

I can't watch the video yet, but I'd guess the extra weight of the rotors would allow them to act like a flywheel to help keep the rotating speed more consistent over minor variations in wind speed.

Driving thru the wind farms in southern California can give you a bit of vertigo. They are visible from the interstate and all turning at basically the same speed. Sort of hypnotizing and visually confusing all at the same time you are trying to drive...

Wind farms are cool in a War of the Worlds kind of way. Unfortunately, from what I understand, those big windmills will never pay for themselves--- they just aren't efficient enough. IIRC they "turn-on" with the help of an electric motor once the wind speed is above 10mph, and have to turn off if the wind speed exceeds 40,mph or they will risk breaking. A cool idea....but they don't make financial sense yet. Solar makes more sense for renewable energy.

Yeah, and I just hate the visual pollution they cause! You have a lovely vista of open county dotted with these UGLY white towers with the added fact that they rotate. UGLY! And as the previous poster mentioned not efficient. The only reason we see then popping up is the government subsidy paid to the power company. They take our tax money and pay the company to put up these things and then we pay for the power at a higher rate then other sources can provide.

Solar is the way to go. I'm not against wind power but the best solution IMO is to put the panels on your roof and a small windmill beside it.

And another thing why don't they put these windmills in the middle of the cities since they are the biggest power users. No they put them in rural area miles from the final users of the power.

Yeah, I know they need open areas to "catch" the wind but really the people pushing these things don't live in the country but in the city and just don't care about the people that have to live on a daily basis with them.

We used to go to Mifflin, Pa every fall for ridge soaring, it's in the middle of Amish country. They want to put wind turbines along the ridge; can you imagine diving in and out around those?

In reply to jimbbski:

You're telling me, the sad thing is, its people in urban areas pushing for them, and they don't want to see them so they make sure they end up in rural areas. berkeley them. Seriously, I'm glad we managed to get included in a flight path making it illegal to put them up very close. My western horizon is nothing but a sea of red lights now though.

On a strange note, those big blades can break when stuck by lightning......about 10% of the giant bastards 10-15mi west of me are missing at least 1 blade.

I had read that a Spanish firm had designed a tube that would generate a vortex which makes the tube wobble, which generates power. From the outside it just looks like a big cylinder, and although they generate less energy than a comparable bladed turbine, they are safer for birds and able to be installed more densely.

I love renewable energy and we can't simply just give up on a method of harnessing it because at first glance it looks like a bad idea. The energy will always be there for the taking, it's just a matter of figuring out the most efficient way of using it.

914Driver wrote: We used to go to Mifflin, Pa every fall for ridge soaring, it's in the middle of Amish country. They want to put wind turbines along the ridge; can you imagine diving in and out around those?

Yes:

https://vimeo.com/13691562

The big wind farm along I-65 in Indiana is really cool IMO. Lots of them together seems right. It's the one by itself in Plymouth Mass that seems weird. Like mentioned "War of the Worlds" is what it puts me in mind of appearing through the mist.

Gov in Ontario subsidizes the hell out of them (and solar) and the people selling and installing are getting rich. As far as benefiting the energy infrastructure, not so much, just another pork-barrel at the taxpayer' expense.

In reply to jimbbski:

You know what's ugly? Big berkeleying coal mines, fossil fuel power plants, pollution caused by those power plants, and gigantic oil spills in our coastal waters trying to suck out every drop of oil so we can fuel those plants.

I'll take big awkward wind turbines any day.

Every new technology is inefficient right up until it isn't. Invest now, the pig payoff comes later.

I'll admit, the rainbows are kinda pretty^

How about home sized wind power, are they known to pay for themselves or loose money in the long run?

Graefin10 wrote: How about home sized wind power, are they known to pay for themselves or loose money in the long run?

I have had ideas for a small DIY turbine for a while. Something like ones that sail boats have. Or something slightly larger- but vertical.

The hard part is figuring a real GRM price vs. the payback. And where to get a decent 12v (or whatever)DC to 120V ac inverter- one that is nice an efficient.

PHeller wrote: I had read that a Spanish firm had designed a tube that would generate a vortex which makes the tube wobble, which generates power. cld/image/upload/c_limit,w_620/v1432663522/hds6vkzb7mwphoaj2au8.gif" />

Jacques Cousteau did it once upon a time with his ship Alcyone. Monohull up front, catamaran out back and the same wind tube to get things moving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyYvq_x55sI

In reply to Cone_Junkie:

You must not have read my engine post. I am not against wind power just those big freekin towers in rural areas. Put them where the power is needed and I don't have to look at them. I like small wind turbines and do plan on putting one on the roof of my shop when it gets built. And I plan on adding solar panels too!

Atlantic City has a wind farm.. it is right on the edge of town on the grounds of the MUA sewerage plant.

I used to work there climbing the towers and doing maintenance

There are a couple of farms in upstate NY that I drive through. I think they are kind of cool.

In reply to Cone_Junkie:

Point taken, but there is a difference. If you speak out against all the things you listed, you are praised by an excessively vocal minority. If you speak out over a 300ft tall windmill 200ft off your property line that same excessively vocal minority makes you out to be satan.

In reply to 914driver:

We have a small sailplane community about 10mi south of here, that is one thing I would love to learn someday. I understand how thermals work, but how do you guys find them? The guys around here seem to LOVE corn fields though.

My neighbor is an iron worker and puts these up. He lives away from home 3 weeks at a time. What does one we cost?

we make the oval access door frames at the base of the tower where i work. we make them for 2 different companies that sell them to the same company that makes the towers, so i guess we make them for one company... i was told that the big one (60mm thick steel that was rolled and formed into and oval that is 4 feet wide and just under 11 feet long) that i was facing off the other day was $10k out the door- and that's just the door frame.

there are a few places around the world that can make them, but i work for the only company in the world that can make them out of a single piece of steel that is rolled, welded, stretched, and finally machined.. we can't make them fast enough to keep up with demand, so we are figuring out new ways to use different machines to machine them before some other company somewhere else decides to try to figure it out. we actually took a bunch of business from Chinese manufacturers because we can make them better and cheaper here in the USA..

There have been a number of wind farms around here for a few years - the big one(actually 3-separate farms) along I-65 in Indiana, that we can see the far western edge of from just outside of town here in IL; one just east of Bloomington, IL to near Gibson City; one on Rt-9 near Rankin, IL; and another on Rt-49 just north of I-74 between Danville & Champaign, IL.

Starting last year they built one just outside town here though, so we got to see the construction much more closely. It's pretty incredible the coordination that goes into the whole process. Interestingly - though in hindsight, not surprisingly - the one delay they frequently encountered was the inability to erect the towers due to high wind. Ironic, eh?

EDIT: I'll add that I think our rural farm areas are perfect for wind farms. The population density is low, and considering the high price of tillable acreage the density will continue to stay low, yet the towers have a small footprint and have a very minimal negative impact on the farmers(which is more than offset by their compensation).

For comparison, I don't think solar could be viable here. Even if we have enough sunlight(not sure), we don't have enough acreage to put the panels. There aren't many big cities around here(although it may work in those), so there just aren't many large parking lots, rooftops, or other places where the panels will not be in the way. The rooftops of homes wouldn't work for many houses, as the trees are way taller than the roofs and block a considerable amount of sunlight for periods of the day. Sure, you could cut down the trees, but then you're causing other problems...

Yes, the cost of construction/erection/maintenance of the wind turbines needs to come down to truly be profitable, and it will never be "free" energy, but it will be energy sourced within the USA...and that's a huge start!